Book Review: Wargame Terrain and Building: The Napoleonic Wars

Book Review: Wargame Terrain and Building: The Napoleonic Wars
by Tony Harwood
Published by Pen and Sword Books.

Wargame Terrain and Building: The Napoleonic Wars – Publisher’s website

Wargame Terrain and Building: The Napoleonic Wars on Amazon.

Tony Harwood, author of several well-received volumes on building wargames terrain is back with Wargames Terrain & Buildings: The Napoleonic Wars.

In 160 full color, glossy pages, Harwood offers step by step instructions on building nine structures to grace your Napoleonics wargames table. The instructions are accompanied by explanations of techniques and skills and list of tools and materials.

The projects included in the book are:

  • Russian Windmill
  • Two Storey French Farmhouse
  • La Belle Alliance
  • French Pigeonnier
  • Stone well
  • Russian Granary
  • Die Kleine Backerei (German Bakery)
  • Hungarian Chapel
  • Peninsular Diorama.

The buildings in the book are targeted at the Napoleonics gamer,but really, given the longevity of architectural styles, they can be used in a wide variety of games. For example, I think that the Hungarian Chapel will look perfect as a piece on my Victorian gothic horror skirmish wargames table.

I’ll also note that the techniques Harwood describes are generally applicable to all sorts of wargames terrain construction. In that respect, I think this book could be useful for anyone engaged in wargames modeling.

Tank Craft: Panther Tanks. German Army and Waffen-SS, Normandy Campaign 1944 — Book Review

Tank Craft: Panther Tanks. German Army and Waffen-SS. Defense of the West 1945
Buy directly from the publisher.
Buy from Amazon.

One of a series of books in Pen and Sword’s Tank Craft books, Panther Tanks focuses on late war models of the German tank.

The book is part history, part identification guide, part painting and modeling instructions. If you are a modeler or a miniature wargamer and Panther tanks appear on your table, this book strikes me as invaluable.

Tank Craft: Panther Tanks is published in a 21cm x 30cm perfect bound format with 64 glossy pages. There are 32 pages of color illustrations.

The color illustrations consist of twenty drawings showing various variations of the Panther, along with different camouflage schemes. There are also photographs of scale models in various stages of assembly, comparing the products of various manufacturers.

The remaining pages of Tank Craft: Panther Tanks are notes on actions fought by various Panzer units, unit organizations, and a general history of the tank.

It’s a good book, and I recommend it to people interested in WWII tanks and unit organizations.

Historical Reference Book Ratings

Andy Watkins has this page with an amazing list of his ratings on hundreds of historical reference books. It’s worth checking before you take the plunge on a particular volume.

The Military Experience In The Age of Reason

I picked up this book at a closeout sale and I’m really glad that I did. As a fan of the American Revolution period, I found it to be full of useful information. Duffy is a superior historian and writer, who manages to combine great detail with an easy to read style. Every aspect of warfare in this period is covered: the officers, common soldiers, sieges, set piece battles, and the home front. It’s a superior read.

Military Experience in the Age of Reason (Wordsworth Military Library)

Free Military and Historical Ebooks

Feedbooks has a list of some fifty free military and historical books.